Senior Visiting Fellows

Professor Jon Lloyd is a world-renowned geomicrobiologist whose research at the interface between biology and geology addresses the mechanisms of microbial redox transformations of iron, and other metals, metalloids and radionuclides. Jon is Director of the Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Sciences (WRC), which offers state of the art infrastructure for mineralogical, geochemical and microbial analyses.

Key Areas of Expertise

Through working with NNL staff with microbiological training, Jon has facilitated the development of NNL infrastructure to perform genomic analyses on highly radioactive

samples from Sellafield Ltd. This infrastructure complements Manchester’s multi-million biological characterisation infrastructure, and combined represents a unique capability in the UK. It has recently underpinned the characterisation of algal growth in fuel storage ponds and has led to a new Nucl Eng Doc PhD on algal biocontrol in nuclear storage ponds, with NNL and Sellafield in 2013, and a new EPSRC PhD studentship in the 2014.

Jon and NNL environmental scientists are continuing to develop this area as a matter of priority. In the area of remediation of contaminated land working with NNL Environmental Services technical specialists and research fellows Jon has attracted NDA Bursary funding for three PhD projects which are closely co-supervised by NNL staff and that enhances NNL’s research profile and reputation with its customers. Jon also works closely with NNL staff on the impact of microbiology on radioactive waste geodisposal, for example through “MIND” a new EU programme initiated under the IGDTP platform in 2014.

Key Achievements

Jon was awarded the Bigsby Medal of the Geological Society in 2006 (for pioneering work on radionuclide biogeochemistry) and was cited as one of the Science Council’s Top 100 practicing UK scientists in 2014. He has secured over15M funding over the last decade and has published over190 publications, with many contributions that have furthered our understanding of the impact of microbial processes on the nuclear fuel cycle.

He was also instrumental in the setting up Manchester’s Research Centre for Radwaste and Decommissioning, leading the successful £1.4M bid for the Centre in 2010, which he remains affiliated with. In 2010 Jon was awarded a Royal Society (RS) Industrial Fellowship secondment to NNL, with an associated appointment as an NNL Senior Visiting Fellow (SVF). He has also mentored and encouraged NNL staff in developing their research careers, interests and publications. This includes the award of a RS Industrial Fellowship to Nick Smith in accordance with NNL’s technical transformation to a National Laboratory.